THE LIST SHOW

10 of History's Greatest Flops

What exactly is a flop? To us, it’s something that arrived with great fanfare and big expectations, then ate pavement—hard. We’re covering just a few in the latest episode of The List Show.

8 Stolen—Then Recovered—Pieces of Art

In this episode of The List Show, Mental Floss editor-in-chief Erin McCarthy is covering works of art that went missing but were thankfully recovered—in the case of a couple of paintings, twice.

6 Strange Animal Evolutions

From the long legs of the jerboa to basically everything about the duck-billed platypus, evolution has taken some weird turns.

28 Things You’re Probably Doing Wrong

From breathing to tying your shoes, there are many everyday actions you could be doing differently.

17 Mysterious Time Capsules

Time capsules can hold anything from historic writings to Diana Ross’s fake eyelash.

A Scottish wildcat, likely with some domestic house cat mixed in.

8 Animals That Recently Went Extinct

These fluffy, scaly, and feathered friends will be missed.

13 Historical Figures You Probably Didn't Learn About

13 Fascinating Historical Figures You Probably Didn’t Learn About in History Class

From pirate queens to groundbreaking stunt pilots to the guy who gave us kitty litter, we’re covering a whole bunch of overlooked historical figures in the latest episode of The List Show.

6 of History’s Silliest Wars

Sometimes, wars end when someone’s kettle gets broken.

11 Space Facts That Will Change Your Perspective

If the sun were the size of a basketball, the Earth would be no larger than a pinhead.

This island may look mysterious, but it isn’t a phantom island.

8 Mysterious Phantom Islands

Old maps are littered with islands that have vanished. What happened to these strange and unexplainable lost lands? Did they ever exist in the first place?

Throw the grammar rulebook out the window.

6 Grammar Rules You Can Break

We’re taking Strunk and White and grammarians everywhere to task in the latest episode of The List Show.

12 Quirky Colleges and Learning Institutes

Want a bachelor’s degree in cannabis business? You can earn one from Oaksterdam University.

This image would have made no sense prior to the 1970s.

26 Things That Are Younger Than You Think

CPR, Post-It notes, and ciabatta bread were all invented way later than you might assume.

The world of medicine is even stranger than you can imagine.

6 Super-Rare Medical Conditions

From Alice in Wonderland Syndrome to the real-life version of Benjamin Button’s disease, these rare conditions could come straight out of a storybook.

You’re probably not pronouncing that word correctly.

15 Words You Think You’re Pronouncing Correctly (But You’re Probably Not)

Sorry to break it to you, but ‘mischievous’ isn’t “miss-CHEE-vee-uss,” and ‘boatswain’ isn’t “BOAT-swain.” We’re breaking it all down in the latest episode of The List Show on YouTube.

Mountaineers making their way to the summit out Mount Everest.

29 Geographical Superlatives That Will Change How You See the World

From the world’s tallest peaks to its deepest lakes and beyond

6 of History’s Worst In-Laws

From Ivan the Terrible to Herod the Great, these historical figures weren’t the best relatives.

11 Defunct Sports Teams

From the Macon Whoopees to the Piedmont-Westernport Drybugs and beyond.

12 Protests That Changed the World

The act of protesting has a long and productive history.

10 Bizarre Animal Smuggling Stories

It seems pants are a common place for smugglers to conceal animals.

8 Animals People Didn’t Think Were Real

Western scientists have doubted the existence of everything from the rhinoceros to the gorilla.

10 Bizarre Historical Hygiene Practices

Let’s just say you’ll be super grateful for your toothpaste and toilet paper after watching the latest episode of The List Show.

The Surprising Origins of 25 Animal Names

From rabbits to butterflies, learn the surprising origins of these animal names.

Being an astronaut isn’t as glamorous as you were led to believe.

10 Surprising Facts About Your Childhood Dream Jobs

In the latest episode of The List Show, we’re tackling some fun facts—and the occasional harsh truth—about the careers you imagined for yourself as a kid.